QUESTION: Peter, you wrote earlier that “The secret is this: turn your connections into affiliates. An affiliate is simply somebody who redirects traffic to your website or blog, so visitors can purchase and download a product. Every time a purchase is made, you earn 30% to 50% in commission as an affiliate.” How are YOU actually doing it?
PETER: I developed a technique called “scriptease” where I give away a FREE partial version of my ebook. Then, readers who are interested in knowing the hidden details (which are covered by a black box) can purchase the complete ebook. See an example at http://peterswork.wordpress.com.
QUESTION: I already downloaded your FREE partial version, it’s interesting. What is your main message in that book?
PETER: The main message that is most relevant to Linkedin users is that they are at the Information phase. They are not yet at the Knowledge phase, where they truly master what it is that they know. It’s not that they don’t know enough, it’s just that they have never taken the time to organize what they know into a system that they could sell. Information is like random dots on a page, whereas knowledge is linking those dots into a well structured geometrical figure. Since most Linkedin users do not master their knowledge, they are not in a position to teach anyone. In other words, they are not capable of creating information products that they could sell to their hundreds (or sometimes even thousands) of connections.
QUESTION: So if the problem is not having knowledge to sell, then what is the solution?
PETER: The first step to a viable solution is to sit down, pull out a blank sheet of paper, and start writing down everything that you know. Remember what Peter Drucker wrote: you are worth in the marketplace what your knowledge is worth. Let me repeat it: Most people on Linkedin do NOT know what it is that they know. This is the SINGLE BIGGEST OBSTACLE to making profitable use of Linkedin. If you don’t have valuable knowledge to share with your connections, then you are “useless.” Indeed, sooner or later, everybody will be connected to everybody else. So it doesn’t matter how many connections you have. What will matter most is how much you know, and what is the value or utility of your knowledge to your connections.
Please don’t be offended when I say that you are “useless” if you don’t have valuable knowledge to share with your connections. This statement has nothing to do with you as a person. I’m sure you’re a very nice person who’s always ready to help others. I’m just saying that your connections cannot “use” you and cannot get any real benefit from you. Unless there is something valuable to be exchanged between you and your connections, then there is no basis for building a win-win relationship.
The bottom line is that if you want to make money by leveraging Linkedin, then you have to seriously think about what it is that you know, and you have to format it in a way that is useful or user-friendly to ALL your connections. This format can be an ebook, a mind map, a PowerPoint presentation, an audio clip, a video clip, etc.
Linkedin is truly a place where you can share knowledge — via teaching, advising, publishing, etc. — and the more knowledge you share and sell, the more you win and the more your connections win.
